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Friday, August 29, 2008

Colluder of The Week: Sarah Palin

McCain made it official this morning and chose Sarah Palin as his running mate. Despite the constant republican barrage about experience, he chose a woman with zero foreign policy experience. At the age of 44 she is also younger than Obama, who has been criticized for his youthful zeal.

So what makes Palin worthy of the colluder of the week award? Well of course the obvious, supporting John McCain. Here is a woman who is willing to stand side by side with a man that called his wife a cunt. Honey, if he can call his wife that imagine what he really thinks of you. Since you are not his sugar mama, I suspect that he will be entering you in nude mud wrestling contests to make you earn your keep. Hey maybe you and Cindy can wrestle together and the GOP's can debate the merit of your attributes while the real men deal with the issues.

Even without her support of the raving misogynist McCain, Palin is a problematic figure. She is firmly anti-choice (again I won't say pro life because none of these oxygen thief fundies really are). I think I am most stunned with her reference to the 18 million cracks in the ceiling. " It turns out the women of America aren't finished yet and we can shatter that glass ceiling once and for all," she said. Despite some of the dirty politics played by Hillary, she never once wavered on a womans right to choose. Palin is not a crack in the ceiling, she is an express elevator ride to the basement. What women do not need is to be made slaves to their biology. Becoming a mother may have been a path to fulfillment for her, but not every woman is capable or wants to become a mother. I think that perhaps she has read A Handmaids Tale once to often...She smacks of Serenna Joy.

If only being anti-choice were the only negative on this colluders resume, I could perhaps forgive her. Sadly the woman has sipped enough kool aid to be pro death penalty (yeah no conflict with her "pro life" stance) and anti gay marriage. In what is perhaps the greatest of flaws, she also believes in...wait for it...drum roll....creationism....Yeah, throw out the science and rationale thought, lets just go with a faith based understanding of the universe. Dear God, save this woman, or in biblical terms that she can understand, woman heal thyself.

I have dedicated severalblogpoststocolluders since starting womanist musings. I have continually referred to them as dangerous, and I believe the point is proven by Palin. If McCain gets elected in Novemeber I am sure a good deal of his success will be due to his partnership with this colluder. Patriarchy counts on women like Palin to internalize their values. Just like every other movement on the planet, without the participation of women it would fall flat on its face. It is women that perform all of the support labour that men either are unwilling to do, or have classified beneath them. How ironic that if McCain and Walin are elected it will be a historic first...a woman VP. Too bad it will be a colluder who is willing to throw the best interest of women under the bus so that she can achieve access to power. Hand in your vagina Palin, woman you may be, but pro woman you are not.

Very cynical move by McCain, as if women voters care more about the fact that she's a woman than about her anti-woman positions. We're writing about this over at the CA NOW blog too: http://www.canow.org/canoworg/2008/08/mccains-vp-choi.html

Yeah, I do know that Palin isn't exactly anything near a feminist, nor is she good news for the country. But I know exactly why he picked her: so that liberal pundits will rev up the hate-machine and sling sexist bullshit all over her and McCain can come out smelling like roses and women voters throw their hands up and refuse to vote for either party.

There's a FORMERLY feminist blogger that I used to really respect who is over the moon because McCain chose this woman. I say FORMERLY because, prior to Hillary losing, this blogger out of Tennessee was a strong fighter for women. But not now. Now she says it's good that Palin was selected, that the Dems deserve it and that Hillary will run again in 2012. She is excited at the possibility of this woman getting elected to office- even though this woman would work night and day to deny her the very rights she's been fighting for all these years.

It breaks my heart, Renee, to see this woman devolve into that- making her gender the only deciding factor. This woman, and those that are following her, are now working against the rest of us- to teach us a "hard lesson". They are willing to throw us all right back to the wolves because that "incompetent Black male" had the audacity to beat Hillary. Where is the reasoning there? Palin would deny a woman's right to decide her own reproductive health and push creationism on our children, but that's ok?

I don't believe that these two will win, of course. I'm just distraught that FORMERLY strong women are willing to sacrifice all of us because they feel there was some kind of injustice. Pfft.

Jennyjinx, I know exactly who you're talking about, because I'm in Tennessee, too. The comments there have been a real surprise and disappointment to me, because they seem to be gleeful that people might have to suffer - and that people should suffer because of how they (whoever the "they" of the commenters think they represent) were ignored. That "I hope you suffer" attitude just floors me.

Before this announcement was made, Terry Gross had an interview with Katha Pollitt of The Nation in which Pollitt pointed out that having a woman in the White House is a powerful symbol. Having a woman as president symbolizes how far women's rights have come - but if the woman espouses anti-woman policies, we've hurt the real goal to achieve a token victory.

Great post! Announcing this took all of the focus off of the successful DNC. Oh well - you gotta give it to the Republicans they are trying to pull everything but the kitchen sink outta their arses to win.

i have to confess that i've been sticking my head in the sand politically for quite a few years but of course every few days i need to come up for air. i had known that she was nominated, that she was a fundamentalist and all but a declared creationist??? holy cow! that scares me the most. please, god, allah, buddha, manitou, all you god guys and gals out there, PLEASE let's not get so cocksure with out love affair with obama that we forget that the republicans want to win, and know how to. because the thought of someone like palin coming on scares me every bit as bush continuing on.

.This is going to be fun. History will be made, one way or another, and it looks more likely now that it will be the right history.

Even more Hillary supporters will go for McCain now. Obama is no longer a near certainty. Heaven forbid something happens to McCain, but I believe Palin would rise to the occasion. She has the right attitude. Everyone knows Obama is NOT ready for POTUS, Palin is only for the VP. Look at Dan Quayle.

YEY SARAH PALIN! YEY John McCain! Great pick! The 1st woman for the GOP VP? SCORE!

Interesting post, Renee. As you can guess from my post, I agree and disagree in part. Yes, her social policies are not in women's best interest, in my view.

But while I love your colluder concept, I have a hard time completely fitting her into this category. She appears to feel based on her religious beliefs that her social policies are in women's best interests. She's horribly wrong on that, of course, but per dictionary.com, colluding is acting "to achieve a fraudulent, illegal, or deceitful purpose." Fraud is knowing deceit. Wrong though she is, Palin seems to genuinely stand behind her views. She has acted throughout her life, taking up stereotypically male sports, pastimes and careers, as if women are indeed equal.

So while I do not want someone in power with the views she has, and I am totally with you that these views are abhorrent, I don't know that it's fair to have her turn over her vagina as someone who's deliberately conspiring vs someone we legitimately and seriously disagree with.

Suggesting that a woman who holds certain views must definitely hold them because she's trying to get in with the guys who hold them -- when she appears to be a go-getter who's acting for herself albeit with misguided principles -- seems to me to remove her agency.

Your other colluder examples do appear to be conspiring with the enemy and aware that they are not acting in women's best interests.

While I commend your zeal, I would like to offer a thought here, as a "womanist" don't you think that you are alienating every woman who does not share your views? Setting aside the topic, the undertones of the rant essentially says that those of us who are pro life are traitors, those of us who actually believe in God are traitors, those of us who are pro family are traitors and so on. That is a large group to alienate, if I hadn't read your blog before I would assume that you only appoved of athiest lesbians who have abortions for fun. Obviously that is not the case, but just a thought that many could get in looking at this. I admire most of what you do, however this piece seems more of a disservice to woman than a benefit, it essentially says that in order to be a real woman you cannot have any respect for traditional roles or values. Back on topic, I agree with some of the other commenters on failing to see how she qualifies. Perhaps it is more race driven and 60% of your posts are?

if I hadn't read your blog before I would assume that you only approved of atheist lesbians who have abortions for fun.

Small note lesbians don't get pregnant, also no one has an abortion for fun. For every woman that has had one it is a difficult decision to make and I don't believe in trivializing that in any way.

it essentially says that in order to be a real woman you cannot have any respect for traditional roles or values.

I have not made it a secret that so-called traditional gender roles are problematic simply because they support patriarchal values. When you act in a way that specifically does not advance women or renders our agency invalid I take issue with it. My problem with Palin is not so much her beliefs. She is a product of her social world and has become everything that she was raised to be. My problem with her is her insistence on imposing her beliefs upon others. If she is anti-abortion that is her business but to attempt to control the bodies of other women is wrong. No matter what my position is on an issue I do not believe that I have the right to force another to live my morals or think like me. It is her disrespect for agency that has largely earned her colluder status in my mind. On a daily basis I see things that I do not agree with, however I respect a womans right to make her own decision because to do otherwise is to infantilize her.

The thing is, I don't think it's disrespect for agency as much as just being wrong. If she truly believes that abortion is murder, then she must also believe that it's OK to prevent other people from doing it. Same with creationism and her willingness to impose that. I'm in total disagreement with her on these and many other issues, but view her stance as misguided rather than colluding.

Intense Debate Comments

About Me

I am the mother of two darling little boys that fill my life with hope. They have inspired me to help raise awareness of the issues that plague this little blue planet.
If you are looking for a blog that is all about how wonderful and rosy this world is, turn right because this space will not be for you. I am a committed humanist. I believe in the value of people over commodities. I believe in the human right to food, clothing, shelter, and education. I am pacifist, anti-racist, WOC. My truth may not be your truth, but I intend to speak it nonetheless.
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